ARM acquires Offspark and its PolarSSL security solution for IoT

The Arduino Due, a microcontroller board contributing to the internet of things ecosystem, is based on the Atmel SAM3X8E Cortex-M3 CPU from ARM. Photo by goodcat/Shutterstock

ARM has secured its position in the internet of things (IoT) infrastructure with the acquisition of Dutch company Offspark, creators of PolarSSL, a commonly used security solution for embedded devices.

UK multinational semiconductor company ARM designs processors used in a range of applications, from sensors to servers, including enterprise infrastructure, mobile devices such as smartphones, and the connected devices that make up the internet of things.

Offspark, a security software company, specialises in IoT communications security and is responsible for PolarSSL, an embedded transport layer security (TLS) solution for a range of devices, including sensor modules, communication modules and smartphones.

PolarSSL will now form the core of ARM’s Mbed communication security and software cryptography strategy and will be rebranded as ARM Mbed TLS.

The technology will remain open source and will be made available for standalone use and as part of Mbed OS, which will be released towards the end of 2015.

“We have always said that security must be the foundation of any IoT system and the acquisition of Offspark is evidence of us making that happen,” said Krisztian Flautner, general manager of IoT business at ARM.

“PolarSSL technology is already deployed by the leading IoT players. The fact that those same companies also utilise ARM Cortex processor and software technologies means we are now able to provide a complete bedrock solution for the industry to innovate from,” he added.